Community Corner
Fox Valley Repertory, Fox Valley Concert Band to Present Performance to Honor Military
Letters Home: A Memorial Day Remembrance is planned for May 28-29 at the Pheasant Run Resort Mainstage.
Fox Valley Repertory and the Fox Valley Concert Band are presenting a tribute to the U.S. military titled Letters Home: A Memorial Day Remembrance on May 28-29 at the Pheasant Run Resort Mainstage, 4051 E. Main St. in St. Charles.
The presentation was created by Fox Valley Repertory (FVR) artistic director John Gawlik specifically for the Fox Valley community. Actors from FVR will recite soldiers’ letters written to friends and family while they were serving, including some letters from the Fox Valley area. The reading of the letters will be accompanied by music from the Fox Valley Concert Band, directed by Colin Holman.
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Several World War II love letters from the parents of Sarah Giachino of St. Charles, co-founder of Fox Valley Troop Support Inc., will be featured in the presentation. Giachino’s father, Purple Heart recipient Charles Hardman, was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, 117th Infantry, 30th Division.
“He arrived on Omaha Beach D-Day plus seven and fought the Nazis all the way through the Battle of the Bulge,” Giachino said. “During his deployment, my mother was pregnant with their first son. They wrote to each other every single day, signing all of their letters to each other exactly the same ways—‘Sleep on it, darling. I love you, honey. Sweetest of dreams and goodnight, sweetheart.’ I believe these powerful messages of hope and support kept my father alive during his long deployment.”
Gawlik researched other local letters from various conflicts with help from the St. Charles Heritage Center and the Geneva History Center.
The letters will be read by actors including Chris Daley, Jack Sweeney and St. Charles resident Rachel Whiteside.
Performances will be 8 p.m. May 28 and 2 p.m. May 29. Tickets are $20 with a portion of proceeds benefiting Fox Valley Troop Support Inc. and Illinois Wounded Warriors Program. Veterans will receive 50 percent off the regular ticket price by presenting their ID.
For tickets, call the Pheasant Run Box Office at 630-584-6342 or visit www.ticketmaster.com. For more information about the presentation or FVR, visit www.foxvalleyrep.org.
